Path of Truth?

A very close friend of mine just lost a very close friend of his - a young man in the prime of his life and ministry who was reaching people with the good news of God's grace. It's really hard to deal with and it reminds me of the story of Kyle Lake - the young Waco pastor who was electrocuted in his baptistry two years ago.

In discussing these events, another friend of mine sent me a link to a website called "The Path of Truth" which included an article about Kyle Lake that I've quoted below. I really don't know why I'm taking the time to refute this guy. Heaven knows I'd have my hands full if I decided to debate every quack that has a website. But I guess just because of what my friend is going through, this one really got me hot under the theological collar.

The guy's name is Paul Cohen and his basic assertion is that if you're walking in the fear of the Lord, then nothing bad will ever happen to you. It's clearly a well-constructed argument with plenty of scripture, church history and gray matter to back it up. Below is a quote from a pretty long article on his site and then a short rant from me. :)

What Jesus said, and what He is saying for those with ears to hear, is that God is over all events, and if you are walking in the fear, or reverence, of Him, you can trust Him entirely. Indeed, it is your duty to entrust yourself to Him. If however, you are walking in the fear of man, which is denying Christ before men, then Christ will also deny you before the Father in Heaven. Then you will be subject to the sudden and violent endings to life in this realm that are your inheritance from "the Fall"

Gosh, how this makes me crazy! Let us count the ways...

First, he mishandles scripture. The verse he quotes in this article (Mtt. 10:29) doesn't say that the Lord causes the fall of every sparrow that falls to the ground. It says no sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of the Lord. Thinking people understand the distinction.

Second, I guess what Cohen is saying is that Kyle Lake - a pastor, whose career and passion was declaring the truth and teaching the word of God - was denying Christ before men. I guess that's what he was doing in the baptistry that day - denying Christ. I guess that's how people's lives were touched by his ministry of denying Christ. I guess that's why he stood in a pulpit and spoke publicly and led a church - because it was a good way to deny Christ.

According to Cohen (and I really don't even have to extend his logic to this conclusion; he actually asserts this himself), if we are walking in fear and reverence for God, then nothing bad will happen to us - least of all death! I can think of quite a few Christian leaders who would disagree with that position. The short list would include Joseph, Daniel, Job, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Polycarp, Bonhoeffer, Cassie Bernall, and a brother from Gaza named Rami who was kidnapped and killed Saturday night because of his faith. According to Cohen, these people were killed because the Son had denied them to the Father. Maybe I should find Cohen's address, vandalize his house, and then stand in the front yard and declare, "Sorry, Paul. Guess you weren't walking in the fear of the Lord."

But even if his assertion weren't patently wrong, it would still miss the point. That is that God doesn't save us from bad things - including death. He never promised to. In fact, he promised just the opposite. ("In this world, you will have trouble.") If Paul Cohen is trusting Jesus to save him from death or accidents or difficult circumstances, I'm afraid he's in for disappointment. As for me, I'm not trusting God to keep hardship from coming my way. In fact, I'm trusting him to send hardship in my life so that I can know him more. Like Paul said, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings."

There's plenty more fuzzy-headed stuff on "The Path of Truth" to rant about, but I'll quit for now. Partly because I want this post to be about upholding the truth and correcting it in a brother and - to be honest - I'm getting way too much pleasure out of bashing this guy.

Anyway, I've emailed the guy and invited him to discuss his position on this blog (his website doesn't allow for feedback/comments). We'll see...

Romney. Stealing. Period.

As of today, I am claiming credit for whatever success Mitt Romney's presidential campaign brings. I just saw a TV spot with this slogan:

Mitt Romney
Strong. New. Leadership.

Years ago, I created a tagline for Irving public schools:

Irving ISD
Growing. Strong. Learners.

The beauty of the above slogan is its flexibility. It can mean that Irving ISD is growing strong learners. It can also mean that Irving ISD is growing and strong and full of learners. But NAYOOOOOOO! All those English teachers in the district chided me for the periods. It didn't make sense! Was it a sentence or not? They didn't get it and they didn't like it. Well, now it's getting presidents elected! So how do you like me now, Ms. Bossyteacher!? Stick THAT in your Number 2 pencil and smoke it!!!

Marketing Guru out.

p.s. If anyone reading this is an attorney and would like to provide pro-bono services for what is obviously a slam-dunk intellectual property suit, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Guru. Out. Again.

Game Notes

I decided to take notes on the A&M, Texas Tech game today. Don't ask me why; I just did. Here's my gameday stream of consciousness.

2:27 pm: Ron Franklin has already said “in the high plain” twice.

2:30 pm: He just said it again, but this time said “high plains”

2:32 pm: Now it's “south plains”

2:34 pm: those wide splits again – why can’t anyone defeat that with stunts?

2:26 pm: I don’t like the solid white unis. Did we have to do that because they’re wearing all black?

:47 left in 1^st qtr: A&M’s first 3^rd down of the game

3:06 pm: TT does a good job of “red out”

End of 1^st qtr: TT doesn’t look like they belong on the field w A&M. only success they’ve had has been on underneath routes when they need a lot of yards.

Start of 2^nd qtr: “south plains”

That shot from the top of the home side press box makes Jones Stadium look so high school.

10:15 in 2^nd: This is how TT always beats us – looking like they shouldn’t

9:52 in 2^nd: “south plains”

4:37 in 2^nd: mike goodson running harder than usual

3:43: our kind of drive – 11 plays. 60 yards so far

Last play of half: I hate give-up plays

Third Quarter:

8:04: I wish Bob Knight and Ron Franklin would quit making out and let me watch some football

2:52: “south plains”

Apparently no one told Gary Darnell that Tech runs the spread offense.

Fourth quarter:

TT converts 3^rd and 12. I start fast-forwarding.

10:57: ballsy call on 3^rd and 2

7: mcgee cannot throw down field. If we’re ever down by more than 14 in the 4^th quarter, we should always go with Jerrod Johnson.

5:30: qb keepers down 28 w 5 mins to go

A quick browse of various Big 12 columns/blogs reveals leading candidates to succeed Fran are Jeff Tedford (Cal), Tommy Tuberville (Auburn) and Bo Pilini (LSU).